Pedro Antonio Vergos de Bryas
Pedro Antonio Vergos de Bryas, Marques de Terrassa (1712-1758) was a Spanish-Brunanter nobleman and military commander, notable for his role during the Franco-Brunanter War. Biography Early life and family Vergos de Bryas was born in Tarragona, Spain to Juan Antonio Vergos, Marques de Terrassa and Marie-Elisabeth de Bryas, a Brunanter noblewoman. His father came from a well-off urban family and for his actions during the War of the Spanish Succession was made Marques of Terrassa (in Catalunia) by King Felipe V. His mother was a descendant of Founding father Philippe de Bryas and daughter of the Duke of Helmond. Owning a small amount of land in Spain, Vergos de Bryas was quite content on leading a simpler life and enlisted in the Spanish military. The death of his grandfather, Felix de Bryas in 1735 led him to inherit much larger properties in Western Brunant, eventually leaving for Brunant in 1737. He was married in 1737 to the wealthy Teresa de los Santos. Military career The outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession led Vergos de Bryas to return to Spain, enlisting in the army and leading troops in the Italian Campaign, from 1743 to 1745, most notably at the Battle of Campo Santo. Returning to Brunant in 1745, he settled down for some years but was called by King Pieter I to the Royal Guard. He was appointed to the rank of General, and given command of the military. He would come to control a shabby, badly trained and supplied force unfit for battle if it ever came. Bringing military expects and others to help train the troops, he drilled the few regulars in a rigorous Spanish manner. By the 1850s this core of 1000 men were the best in Brunant. Use of his new trained forces would occur in 1756. In August 1756, 3500 French troops were landed in Brunant and war would begin. Vergos de Bryas led a force of 500 to relieve Donderstad Castle during a siege, forcing the French to flee. From late 1757, he would be bottled up at Markstad Castle during a French siege, with only relief by Adrian van Haecht's troops on 17 June 1758 ending the siege. On 1 July, he led some 1200 troops which took Donderstad, but was soon forced to retreat following a new French invasion and a wound sustained. He led an unsuccessful siege which was lifed in November but would then command the largest force of the war. In December 1758, he led a force of 12,000 Brunanters (as well as 4000 Hessians) which beseiged Donderstad Castle and town, the last French stronghold in Brunant. Vergos de Bryas had effectuated cannon fire on the town, and was set to direct the final assault, but his treated wound went bad again, and with disease spreading died on 30 December. Personal life and legacy In 1737 he married Teresa de los Santos (b. 1720), a member of a wealthy but untitled noble family. He and Teresa would live in Brunant most of their life together, settling down in Roodstad, in preference of an urban life. They would have three daughters: *Carolina Vergos (1739-1790) *Marie-Elisabeth Vergos (1746-1749) *Clara Vergos (1748-1822), married Philip Neyt, mother of Hendrik Neyt Teresa died in 1770. The birth of his daughters saw the virtual extinction of the title of Terrassa upon his death in 1758 (salic law), but his grandson Hendrik Neyt would claim them throughout his life. The Vergos de Bryas College in Carrington is named after him. Category:Dead people Category:1712 births Category:Franco-Brunanter War Category:Royal Guard personnel